1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to containers for liquids. More specifically, it relates to containers for dispensed soft drinks. Even more specifically, it relates to a polyethylene blowmolded container for soft drinks having a beveled or chamfered nose section located beneath the spout, adapted to engage the activation lever or button of a soft drink dispenser. The container also has a carrying handle and a spout adapted to receive a snap fit closure cover.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Patrons of fast food restaurants often order their food "to go". If soft drinks are included with this order, they generally come in cups with snap fit lids. This leads to a problem with the handling of these cups, especially if there are a number of them included in the order. Often, fold out cardboard trays with cavities to receive the cups are used. This generates an unnecessary amount of waste. One way to eliminate this problem would be to have a container that holds a number of servings and that allows the consumer to transport them easily when he leaves the establishment.
Another problem that arises when soft drinks are ordered to go is that they are almost always dispensed into inverted frustoconical cups. These types of containers have a high center of gravity and thus are prone to tipping over and spilling. One way to eliminate this problem would be to provide a container for beverages where the base was as wide as the top, to provide a more stable footing.
Containers that could be used in this capacity are well known in the art, and many patents have been issued for devices that could be adapted to this purpose.
The first patent in this discussion is U.S. Pat. No. Des. 205,166 issued on Jun. 28, 1966 to Warren L. Price. This discloses a jug that includes a central top handle and a recessed hand area with the pour mouth disposed centrally in a broad, flat, downwardly angled surface located anteriorly of the handle.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 252,257 issued on Jul. 3, 1979 to Fred. R. Dobbs et al. shows a liquid container having a handle arranged diagonally on the top surface with a recessed area below it. The area, however, does not extend cleanly from side to side and it can be seen that Dobbs et al. lacks the beveled nose disposed under the pour spout.
Next in the discussion is U.S. Pat. No. Des. 283,598 issued on Apr. 29, 1986 to Francois M. P. Heriard-Dubreuil. This discloses a bottle with a recessed central portion, but is lacking the beveled nose or hollow handle of applicant's invention.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 284,641 issued on Jul. 15, 1986 to David A. Jones discloses a jug with a recessed hand area and an overlying handle.
U.S. Pat. No. Des. 296,668 issued on Jul. 12, 1988 to Leonard J. Stavish and U.S. Pat. No. Des. 325,871 issued on May 5, 1992 to Borge Hestehave et al. both disclose laterally elongate liquid containers. They both show top pour mouths, central top handles, and recessed hand areas beneath the handles.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,412,633 issued on Nov. 1, 1983 to Vincent Guerrazzi et al. discloses a vented jug wherein a tubular hollow handle is connected to both the jug body and the collar that defines the upwardly open pour mouth.
Next is U.S. Pat. No. 4,805,793 issued on Feb. 21, 1989 to Charles M. Brandt et al. This shows a stackable bottle having a bottom surface bifurcated by a release groove to form a recessed portion on the bottom of the container. This release groove is interrupted by an external rib that fits into a notch means located on the anterior portion of the handle.
Another patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 4,923,098 issued May 8, 1990 to Michael I. Schoonover et al. wherein a fluid container includes a first and second top wall, each of which includes a handle and a first and second opening disposed, respectively, beneath them. Proximate each of these handles are caps that may include vents.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,064,101 issued on Nov. 12, 1991 to Simon J. Richter et al. discloses a container nestable with like configured containers. The container has a first and second opening, with the second opening having a conduit that extends from the top of the container downwards. This conduit is in fluid communication with the interior of the container and allows for the pumping of the contents out through the second opening when the first is attached to a quick disconnect coupling and, then, to a pump.
In U.S. Pat. No. 2,688,995 issued on Sep. 14, 1954 to Edmund L. Wagoner there is disclosed a liquid container for beer or the like. It teaches a one piece molded body, preferably made of polystyrene, with an upper end having a tapered throat, below which is an annular sealing groove that is adapted to receive a concavo-convex cover.
Next in this discussion is U.S. Pat. No. 2,837,245 issued on Jun. 3, 1958 to Michael J. Grebowiec. In this patent, a low pressure, flexible wall container is disclosed. The container has a neck portion, including a thicker portion for receiving neck sealing construction. The container also includes a dispensing head, a concave bottom including a circumferential groove indent, and a base piece.
Considered next is U.S. Pat. No. 3,176,879 issued on Apr. 6, 1965 to Albert B. Mojonnier. This patent teaches a container with a spout, a handle, and a depression in the bottom for stacking. The container is formed in two sections having mating outward flanges that also provide an integral handle. There are face panels, side panels, and end panels, the last two further including stiffening ribs. The spout is formed integrally with the top face panel and there is a depression in the bottom panel for receiving the spout of the container below when the units are stacked.
Another bottle construction is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,214,054 issued on Oct. 26, 1965 to Roy W. Dike. The bottle includes side wall means including panel indentations for receiving a label, bottom wall and top wall means. There is a dome shaped top member with an integral tubular handle having outwardly and downwardly flared end portions. These are connected to both the dome shaped member and the filling and pouring neck. The recess portions on the bottom wall extending diagonally between opposite side wall corners in combination with the handle members permits nesting when the devices are stacked.
A liquid dispensing jug having a vented handle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,251,514 issued on May 17, 1966 to Wallace L. Speicher. The jug has a lower portion, an upper, tapered portion, an outlet spout, and a tubular handle. There is a shoulder in the outlet spout proximate the point where the tubular handle communicates with it. This shoulder causes liquid, when being poured, to move away from the entrance of the handle portion, allowing air to continuously flow therein, thus preventing pulsation and splashing.
There are two patents, both issued to Norman A. Kelly, discussed here. The first, U.S. Pat. No. 3,308,997 issued on Mar. 14, 1967 discloses a plastic jug where four side walls and a bottom wall define a substantially rectangular materials compartment. There are recessed portions to add strength and provide space for indicia located on the side walls, and a neck structure having a horizontal platform and a spout. There are four ribs integrally connected to the platform and the unit as a whole further includes a handle structure integrally connected between the neck structure and one of the side walls.
The second of the two is U.S. Pat. No. 3,400,846 issued on Sep. 10, 1968. In this disclosure a container has four side walls, a top wall, and a bottom wall that define a substantially rectangular chamber. There is further included an integral pouring spout with an irregularly shaped neck converging upwards towards a flange portion and a rear portion, the rear portion being substantially parallel with and rearward from the front wall. The flange portion communicates with the front end of a solid handle, and the rear end of the handle is secured to and integral with the top wall of the container.
Another container with a hollow handle is disclosed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,434,635 issued on Mar. 25, 1969 to Stanley I. Mason, Jr. There is a main body chamber, a spout, and a handle. The handle is hollow and is disposed in a generally vertical position. A recessed zone provides space for the handle within the outline of the chamber and a small passage, located proximate the juncture of the handle and the chamber, allows steady flow while pouring.
Another patent of interest is U.S. Pat. No. 3,542,229 issued on Nov. 24, 1970 to Ludwig Bayeriein et al. This discloses a plastic bottle with a shrunk strengthening band. Polyvinyl chloride is discussed as a material for the bottle, which has a neck and a base. A band, or multiple bands, which can be of varying widths, are heat shrunk around the bottle to pre-stress it.
The next piece of art in this discussion is British published application GB 2042461 A. The inventor was Henry F. Bowers and the date of publication was Sep. 24, 1980. The device has a conventional filling and pouring aperture, an eye to receive a separately molded carrying handle, and a central disk having a peripheral groove to allow the easy removal of the central disk, by cutting through the wall of the container at the groove.
Finally, U.S. Pat. No. 4,759,454 issued on Jul. 26, 1988 to Casimir W. Nowicki et al. discloses a hollow plastic bottle with a wrap around label. The container has a side wall including spaced shoulders that define the area to be covered by the label.
None of the above inventions and patents, taken either singly or in combination, is seen to describe the instant invention as claimed.